Chiesa Nuova

Erected in 1615 on the remains of a building believed to be the home of St. Francis. The building’s architecture design is from the Renaissance period. The façade, built of brick, is divided by four pillars supporting a Doric entablature, with attic gable, above which rises a hemispherical dome. The interior has a Greek cross structure, covered by domes in the arms and in the main building with an octagonal base. The surface is entirely covered with frescoes, dating back to 1621 and the stucco decorations date back to 1769. There are frescoes by Cesare Sermei and Vincenzo Giorgetti. In the pillars supporting the dome are eight episodes from the life of St. Francis. On the left is the cell where Pietro Bernardone locked the young Francis in chains to divert him from his life as a penitent and his love for the poor; the interior houses a wooden statue of the saint in prayer (XVII century).

Oratorio di San Francesco Piccolino

The setting is covered by a rustic vault pointed arch section, and has traces of frescoes of the XIV century. According to a pious legend, in this little stable the mother of St. Francis found refuge to give birth to her son. On the pointed arched portal it still reads; “This oratory was the barn of an ox and a donkey. In it, Blessed Francis, mirror of the world was born”.